What if - PART 2
by Everythingistaken
Summary: While trying to save neglected horses, Ty gets into trouble while trying to help Amy. Now his life at Heartland is at risk. Marion figures out her relationship to Luke and Tim while Jack and Lisa are working things out one way or the other. (I do not own the characters)
1. Introduction

In my other story - What if- I wrote about how life would have turned out if Marion didn't die in the car accident. For those of you who haven't read the story: Marion met a man called Luke and fell in love. Tim came back into their lifes and turned things upside down. At the end of the story, Amy and Ty are happy together, Marion sort of ended her relationship with Luke and Jack and Lisa broke off because she left for France. I think these are the most important things to know for Part 2 of - What if - .

Enjoy and feel free to comment!

PS: English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes.


	2. Run

Marion was in the middle of a training with a new horse when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

For a second Marion was tempted to not even take a look at who was calling – from latest experiences it was probably Tim or Luke anyway. Just in case it wasn't she look at the caller ID: LUKE.

"Oh, of course... Don't ever get in boy trouble, little Penny", she said to the young mare beside her. Marion ignored the phone and resumed her work. On the other side of the phone Luke hang up frustrated. Ever since Pegasus has died and he spent the night at Marion's place, he hadn't seen or even talked to her.

Only a couple of minutes later Lou left the house with the phone in her hand.

"Mom, it's Dad for you", she called.

"Tell him I can't come to the phone right now", Marion yelled back. But Lou was already too annoyed by her fathers and mothers back and forth.

"One second Dad, she'll be right here."

"Lou, I really have no time to talk to him right now", Marion whispered when Lou stood in front of her.

"I don't care, he won't stop calling, I can't concentrate for a second", Lou hissed.

Marion sighted and then took the phone out of her daughter's hand.  
"Tim, what can I do for you?"

"Well, why don't you start with explaining your incredible activity level? Don't you think it's simply amazing that a single woman is so busy that she cannot come to the phone for DAYS?"

"As a matter of fact I have absolutely no time, so cut it short."

"Hell, you are in a bad mood. Meet me tonight?"

"What?! No, no… I can't meet you, Tim"

"Why? You can kiss me but not meet me? What does that make me, your cheap call…?"

"Stop talking, Tim. We can meet tomorrow morning in town", Marion interrupted her Ex-Husband. There was no point in sugar coating it, Tim wasn't going to leave her alone until she explains to him that she has absolutely no interest in repeating their kiss these days. They agreed to meet and Marion hang up.

"Marion, you came", Tim greeted her, when she entered Maggie's restaurant.

"Yeah. Hi Tim", she said while avoided Tims attempted kiss on her lips.

As soon as both sat down and had coffee in their hands, Tim came to the point.

"Marion, why have you been ignoring me? After my opinion we had a wonderful time and it didn't seem like you didn't enjoy it."

"Tim, I believe you are interpreting a little too much in that… kiss", Marion tried to stop Tim.

"You can deny it as much as you like, but I know what happened. You kissed me back and I will not believe you if you say you haven't dreamed about us back together since", he rambled.  
"Jesus, you are driving me mad, Tim. I actually HAVEN'T dreamed about us being back together since, hm, let me think, since about TEN years. What are you thinking Tim? Seriously! It meant absolutely nothing to me, do you hear me?! Nothing", Marion hissed. "I hope I am making this clear to you: You and I are not coming back together. Ever."

There was a moment of silence in witch both of them looked very interested at their coffee mugs. Finally Tim interrupted the quiet: "I don't get why you would kiss me back than. It clearly meant nothing to you, but just so you know: it meant something to me."  
"And I am truly sorry about that. But it's not like I am leaving you at the altar – it was a kiss! Get over it. As long as I know, worse things have happened in our relationship", Marion ended the conversation and left the diner in a hurry.

While opening her car, Scott drove into the empty parking place beside her. "Marion, hey, do you have a second?" he asked through his open car window.

"Hey Scott. I actually have to get back to Heartland. Can it wait?"

Scott rummaged in the mess of his trucks back seats for a while and then handed Marion some papers.

"Just promise me to read those, ok? I know you are busy, but I think you would really want to read that." Marion looked puzzled at the vet.  
"Ok, I will. Thanks Scott. I'll call you."

Later that day, Amy found the papers Scott gave Marion in the kitchen. She just came home from school when she saw them lying around on the kitchen counter.

After she read the first page, Amy forgot all her plans for the day, sat down in the living room and didn't stop reading until she finished.

After finishing the last page she slowly dropped her hands, her heart racing. It took her a couple of moments to get a clear mind. Then Amy put on her shoes as fast as she could an began searching for her mother.

"Mom! MOM!" she yelled, desperate to find her.

"I'm here Amy, in the office", Marion yelled back, clearly annoyed by the interruption.

"Mom, what's that?" Amy asked, even before she fully entered her mothers office. "What's what?"

But Amy didn't need to answer, Marion recognized the papers Amy held in her hands.

"Oh, that. Scott gave those to me when we met in town", she explained.  
"Have you read them?" Amy asked out of breath.

"No, I haven't had time. Honey, what's going on?!"

"You NEED to read them. There is that stable a couple of miles away from here. The animal welfare enforced that it has to be closed, because the animal's conditions are cruel, they had hardly anything to eat, to drink, no medical attention. Problem is, that there is no place for the horses to go, because no one agrees to take them on. It says in the text, that the horses are traumatised and need professional attention before they can be established otherwise. Mom, we need to help them! No place is better than Heartland, you can help those horses!"

Marion looked at her daughter with puckered brows.

"You can say something now", Amy said, not able to bare the silence one more second.

"I'm not sure what to say Amy. As a matter of fact, I can't say anything right now. I'll read the article later and call Scott afterwards. But let me tell you this, I am not making any promises to you at this point."  
"I know, I know. You're the best anyway."  
"No, really Amy. Don't get your hopes up. We don't have the place or the time for, what did you say, more than ten traumatised and sick horses."

"Yeah Mom. I'm going to meet Ty now, all right?"  
"Sure, you two have a good time. See you later."

As the day went by, Marion caught herself thinking about her daughters words over and over again. Truth was that no matter how much work had to be done, Marion couldn't ignore animals in need.

So in the hope of not being disturbed she made her way to Jacks house, since he was supposed to be at Lisa's place. Even though Lisa and Jack were not back together, Jack agreed to meet her after her last business trip to France.

While she was lost in the words and pictures, Marion didn't notice her phone buzzing over and over again. That's why she was honestly surprised when Lisa, Jack and Luke stood in front of her.

"Dad… Lisa… Luke, I- I didn't expect any of you here… now", Marion greeted them a bit bewildered. She stood up, greeted Lisa and Jack. When she turned to Luke, Lisa said: "Come on Jack. Didn't you want to show me you new cattle?"  
Jack understood Lisa's hint and they left Marion and Luke alone.

"Luke, what are you doing here?" Marion finally asked.

"You might have noticed, that I have called you for round about two thousand times. I figured, that you got the nerves to ignore my next ten thousand text massages, so I drove over to talk to you in person", he explained himself.

"Listen, I'm sorry about the calls. I really meant to call you back, it just has been… Well, I've been busy."

"Fine. But now that I'm here and you are clearly not toooo busy right now…"

"What tells you I'm not extremely busy, hm?" Marion asked ironical.

"Well, why don't we start with your jogging pants, sweatshirt, a bottle of wine, you are here and not at your place and…"  
"All right, all right. Want a glass of wine?" Marion interrupted him laughing.

"Sounds good."

Moments later Luke and Marion sat down in Jack's living room, sharing a bottle of wine. "So, what's all that?" Luke asked, regarding the papers.  
"Scott gave those to me. There's that case…" Marion started explaining. When she finished telling Luke everything she knew, he looked at her with wide eyes and asked: "So, what are you going to do?"  
"Why do you expect me to do anything? I'm not the only woman in the area that likes animals."

"Oh, come on Marion. That doesn't leave you cold, I know you."

Marion laughed out loud and then said: "Right now, I'm not going to do anything about it. We are fully booked, Lisa expects me to finish the training with five of her horses in a couple of weeks. I – I just don't have the capacity these days."

"All right then. So, care to tell me now why you have been ignoring me for weeks?" Luke changed the subject abruptly.

At the same time, Amy was sitting next to Ty in Jacks truck, driving through the land. "Will you tell me now where we are going?" Ty asked.  
Amy hasn't said a word about there destination ever since Ty promised her his help. "I guess now that you can say no anymore… Scott gave Mom an article about a farm near Calgary. The owners totally neglected the animals. They are forced to close it down, but there is no place for the traumatised horses to go. No one wants to take them on."

"So now... WE take them on?"

"No, of course not. But it might be too late to do anything until mom reads the articles. I want to take a look at the place, the horses."  
"Amy, you know we can't do anything, right? I will do everything I can to help but – that's not much."  
"Don't you think I know that? Like I said, I just want to take a look. With you."

"Yeah and as you mentioned – I don't really have a choice anymore, do I?"

"Nope."

After a two hour ride Amy and Ty arrived at the Sunshine-Farm. They parked Jacks truck out of eyeshot just in case they weren't welcome.

"That doesn't look like much sunshine anymore", Ty remarked dry.

"Not exactly. To be honest, that whole farm looks like no one has been here in years."

"But that can't be, right? The article said, that most of the animals are still here because there is no place for them to go?"  
"Yeah, they must be behind the main building. It said that the country isn't ready to pay for the cost it takes to save them."

From what Amy and Ty could see, the farm was consisting of three stables and the living house. The building was so rotten, that it was a wonder that the walls hadn't already given in. After Amy and Ty made sure that no one had seen them, they slowly walked along the bushes to the other side of the main stable.

As they got closer they noticed a stinging smell. Excrement, diseases and rotting animals added to a tang that was not possible to ignore. Ty covered his nose and mouth with a tissue and passed Amy one so she could do the same.

"This is not possible. I thought the animal welfare was already here. How could they leave the animals like that?" Ty whispered when he and Amy saw the smells origin.

There were horses, sheep, goats, cows, even pigs sharing a paddock that was barely big enough for four to five horses.

Amy's stomach rumbled and tears came to her eyes by the sight of dozens of apathetic animals. "Amy, we have to go. I'm pretty sure I just heard a car coming up the drive way."  
"We can't just leave, Ty", Amy said horrified.

"We HAVE to leave. Come on, you said you wanted to take a look, so we took a look. We can discuss what to do now in the car. I really don't want to get in trouble, you know exactly that I cannot effort that", Ty tried convincing his girlfriend and grabbed her arm.  
"Ty-"  
"No, we have to go Amy. Someone is coming, lets got" he interrupted Amy. And he was right. When Amy turned around to follow Ty's gaze, she saw two figures coming up. "Fine, lets go", she gave in.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?!"

Too late - Ty and Amy were already spotted.

"RUN!" Ty yelled.


	3. Help

_When Amy turned around to follow Ty's gaze, she saw two figures coming up. "Fine, lets go", she gave in._

_"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?!"_

_Too late, Ty and Amy were already spotted._

_"RUN!" Ty yelled._

And so they did. As fast as their legs would carry them they started running towards the bushes that surrounded the farm, through a labyrinth of old tractors and junk. More than once Amy or Ty would stumble or hit against garbage that was lying around everywhere.

When they finally reached the protecting shrubs, their followers were so near that Amy could hear them gasping behind her.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Even though Amy and Ty got closer to the truck the men's voices grew louder. Ty was already opening the truck when Amy felt someone grabbing her arm. She was brutally turned around by the man who, that's what she figured, was the farms owner.

"AMY, RUN!" Ty yelled. But Amy couldn't, the man was way too strong to shake of. Finally Amy kicked him as hard as her tired legs allowed in the stomach. Before she could escape, a fist hit her painfully just below her left eye. It took her a second to see through the stars that were dancing in front of her eyes. Then, with all her power, she thrust her right knee between the mans legs. His reaction took long enough for Ty to knock him out unconscious from behind. The battle was over as soon as it has begun. Ty didn't hit the guy hard enough to not regain consciousness immediately after hitting the ground. They had to move fast, the other guy was running towards them while his partner on the ground was robbing towards the car.

But Amy and Ty didn't need much time, they jumped in the car, Ty started the engine and they drove of as fast as possible. Only moments later no one could be seen in the driving mirror – it seemed like the guys weren't in the mood for a car race.

A couple of minutes passed until Ty broke the silence: "Holy shit… That was…"  
"Yeah…"  
"Amy, I think we should let a docto take a look at you. That cut beneath your eye looks pretty bad", Ty said concerned.  
"I'm fine. I just need some ice."  
Ty let the theme drop: "You sure had some punch there."  
Amy had to laugh at that comment: "Seems like the self-defense classes in school weren't too bad after all."  
"Obviously."

Both were still in shock, so the rest of their way back home went by in silence.

"Mom is going to flip out when she sees us like that", Amy interrupted the silence when Ty drove down Heartlands driveway.

"Probably… Are you going to tell her… the truth?" Ty asked her slowly.

"I don't know. Should I? I mean, how else do I explain her the bruise under my eye?"

"Riding accident?"  
"And what are we going to do about the animals? We can't just ignore them."

"No, we can't. I agree. But I don't think we can do anything at this point. We need to talk to your mother, Jack, probably also Scott, maybe even Luke. We need the support of people with skills, money and space. And I just hit a man to the ground – being previously convicted and stuff, I think the less people know about it… I could still get into real trouble if -"

"Ty?" Amy interrupted him.  
"What?"  
"Have I told you how much I love you recently?"  
"Nope, I don't think so."

"Well, in that case: I love you", Amy said grinning. Ty stopped the car and looked at Amy. "Then it is a good thing, that I love you too."

"That is a good thing indeed."

Ty leaned over and placed a passionate kiss on Amy's lips.

"Thank you for helping me with this", Amy said.

"Of course I am going to help you."

Lucky for Amy and Ty, Marion hadn't even noticed that her daughter took Jacks truck, because she was concentrated on her conversation with Luke.

That's why Amy could get into the house unnoticed with Ty, who cleaned her wound caused by the hit.

"Looks already better", he said afterwards. Ty was right, with the blood washed away, all that was still visible was a small cut under Amy's eye.

"Thanks."

"I still think you should see a doctor. You might have a concussion. That hit was pretty hard."  
"I know."  
"So, what now?" Ty asked.

"Well, like you said: We need help. I think we should talk to mom and grandpa first."

"You want to do it now? Says on the notice your mother left on the table that she is at your grandpas."

"The sooner the better, right?"  
"Right."

When Ty and Amy entered Jacks living room, they did not only come across Marion but also Luke, Lisa and Jack. They were deeply involved in a conversation and it took them some time to notice Amy and Ty.  
"What if the animals carry conterminous viruses? We cannot afford to close down the ranch", Amy could overhear Jack saying. Then Lisa looked up and saw Amy and Ty staying in the door frame. Finally everyone else realized that they weren't alone anymore.

"Hey you two, what are you doing here?" Marion asked. After she inspected Amy's face she asked with clenched teeth: "What in the world has happened to your face, Amy!?"

Amy and Ty sat down and explained without hesitation what had happened.

"As a matter of fact, we were just talking about the situation at the Sunshine-Farm", Jack said after his granddaughters report.

"So?" Amy asked, "Do you have a plan?"

Amy noticed her mother glaring at her. She was obviously not amused by her actions. But at that point, luckily no one else concentrated on the risks Amy and Ty took.

Before anyone could answer Amy's question, Marion said: "We were only talking. Not planning."  
"Marion, I don't mean to be rude, but right now, Amy and I are the only one that know about the exact condition at the Sunshine-Farm. I have lived here long enough no know that not one of you doesn't want to help. And Amy and I can help you. Please don't shut us out", Ty said.

Marion looked puzzled. She didn't expect Ty talking back, since that was normally Amy part. But his words made sense, she knew that and so did everyone else in the room. Jack couldn't help himself – he was proud of Ty.

"I'll get some drinks and snacks", Marion excused herself. While Luke stood up and followed her, Jack took over the scolding part: "So, you two. Don't you ever, EVER get yourself in that kind of danger again, do you understand me? What you did was not only risky but also plain stupid. The moment you realized that the conditions were worse than expected you should have gotten help."

"We know, Grandpa. But it was already too late."  
"Exactly my point: Don't let it get to that point again!"  
"We won't, Jack", Ty promised.

"Good. Cause I don't want to have to search either of you in some rotten farm, kidnapped by two unscrupulous assholes, understood?"

"Yes Grandpa."

One room along, Luke helped Marion prepare dinner. "The important thing is, that both of them are safe now", he tried to calm her.

"I know that. But still, how can you ignore the fact, that some idiot hit my daughter and would have done god knows what if they wouldn't have been fast enough."

"You are right. But it is useless to worry about that right now – they are safe, Marion!" Luke carefully grabbed each of Marion's arms so that she couldn't turn away.

He looked into her sharp blue eyes and did his best to resist kissing her full lips: "So, stop worrying. We are all in this together."

Marion stared into Luke's eyes and couldn't help herself but believed his words. Then she let him pull her into a comforting hug.

"I know you are right. I just can't stand the image of my baby girl being… you know", she explained herself.

"And that's just fine."

Supplied with food and drinks Lisa, Jack, Luke, Marion, Amy and Ty sat down again and started discussing calm about what they could do.

Later that night Amy lay wide awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Too much has happened in the last twenty hours and she couldn't stop thinking about all those horses nobody else seemed to care about.

After hours of sleeplessness Amy put her robe on and went downstairs to make herself a tea. Surprised she noticed that the lights in the living room were still on and her mother was spread out on the couch under a blanket, pictures of the Sunshine-Farm in her hands.

"Hey Mom, couldn't sleep?" Amy asked.  
"Nope, how 'bout you? Sleepless?"

"Yeah…"  
"That was a crazy day, hm?"

Amy sat down next to Marion and slid under the blanket. "I can't get that picture out of my head", Amy explained.

"It's an awful situation. Scott agreed to take a lot at the animals tomorrow. He'll especially keep his eyes open for any contagious diseases. If he doesn't find any – well, we'll figure out things from that point. And we will figure things out Amy. Don't worry too much, okay?"  
Amy nodded and let Marion pull her into a hug.

"Can I come with you tomorrow?" Amy asked after a while. "I'd prefer if you would stay home."  
"Mom!"

"No, listen to me Amy. Those men know your face now. Even if they don't recognize your face, they will recognize the cut under you eye. Scott, Luke and I need to be able to look at the animals without being rushed, so the guys need to believe that we come from the animal welfare. Promise me to stay here."

Amy sighed. She knew that her mother was right. If they wanted an accurate diagnosis they needed time.

The next day Marion woke up with a knot in her throat. She knew that the next twelve hours weren't going to be easy.

Only an hour later she sat next to Scott and Luke in Scott's Truck on the way to the farm. Since it was still early, none of them felt like making conversation so the drive went by rather quite. It was unexpectedly easy to get the owners permission to look at the animals. Till Larson, the man who was responsible for everything that has happened at the farm clearly had no clue about the ongoing on his farm. He simply grunted when Scott explained him that he would like to take a look at the animals.

After Larson left them alone, Luke said: "Jesus, that guy drinks more cheap Vodka than water. Did you smell his breath?!"  
"I did. But this smell is worth", Scott answered, regarding the smell of neglected animals. It took them less than a minute to realize that Amy and Ty weren't exaggerating when they said that those creatures needed help faster than the animal welfare could get it.

"Ok, let's get to work. How about we start with the sheep and work our way through", Scott suggested. Marion and Luke agreed and helped Scott examining one animal after the other. After hours of work nine sheep, two goats, seven cows, four pigs and sixteen horses were count. Even before Scott had a chance to take a look at the horses he already put down four of the sheep, two cows and three pigs. There was nothing that could have helped them anymore.

"You think Larson will notice that we endet their misery?" Marion asked.  
"I don't think he is able to notice what year we are living in", Luke murmured.

Marion's stomach was already turned upside down when they took a close look to one horse's hooves. They were so long they have started curling, the mare could barely stand.

"We can't do anything about that right now. I need more space to trim the hooves. We'll have to wait until the owner either allows us to let the horses out of the paddock or until they were transported to another place", Scott commented. "This is so messed up", Marion cursed.

Hours later Marion, Luke and Scott sat in the truck again. They smelled and looked like their last shower was weeks ago and none of them could really realize what they have just witnessed.

Back at Heartland all of them took a quick shower at Marion's place before they met with Amy, Ty, Jack, Lou and Lisa in Jacks kitchen.

Amy could barely sit still longer than a second, she couldn't wait to hear what the three had to tell. Of course she hoped that they could finally end the animals misery, it obviously has been going on way too long.

And then finally Scott started talking: "Good news first: For now there are absolutely no signs for contagious illnesses. We will have to wait for the blood tests, but I am optimistic." Those were exactly the news everyone was hoping for.

"Bad news: the animal's conditions are worse than expected. The excessive loss of weight, the crucial under nutrition is borderline in most cases. I am not sure how many horses will pull through, we had to put down half of the sheep, pigs, cows and I am afraid that there will be more. In most cases the wounds won't be the biggest problems, the horses hooves have a chance to heal as well. Infections of lungs and bronchia will be what we have to look out for. But right now I don't see anything that threatens the health of our own animal's", Scott finished.

"So, what now? Can we get them to Heartland?" Amy asked, looking at Jack.

"If the blood test come back clean, I don't see why not", he finally answered. "What do you think, Marion?" he referred the question to Marion.

"I agree. After we get them out of that hell we can try to look for other stables that might agree to take care of one or two animals. Maybe you could take a couple?" Marion asked Luke and Lisa at the same time. "Of course. Yes, of course I can", Luke hurried to say.

"I'll make some space, that shouldn't be a problem. We'll have to talk to the animal welfare though, before they put the animals down in a desperate action", Lisa said.

"I already called them, they gave us three days. After that, they will, in their words – take the reins. Took them long enough, but they still don't have anyone else agreeing to take the animals on, so I guess they'll just shut down the place and with it…"

"… the animals", Amy completed her sisters sentence.

"We don't need more then three days, the results will be back tomorrow or the day after", Scott explained.

"Good, that's good", Jack grumbled.

"So, that means we are really doing this?" Amy asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. "Seems like it", her mother answered.

"Do you know where you want the animals to stay? Amy and I can start preparing everything for them tomorrow. We have the whole weekend…" Ty asked.

"We'll figure that out as soon as Scott gets the test results back", Marion answered. It was already late, so everyone decided to go to bed – there was nothing left to do for them but wait.

After a couple of minutes Jack and Lisa were left alone in the kitchen, cleaning everything up.

"It has been nice to spend some time together again", Jack said while drying of the dishes Lisa handed him. "Yeah, I have been enjoying it too. Speaking of being together, what has been going on between Marion and Luke? Are they still not back together?"

"Nooo", Jack rumbled, "they are as stubborn as two people can be!"  
"I wonder where Marion has got that from", Lisa laughed.  
"Clearly not from me?"  
"Clearly."

Jack looked at Lisa. She wasn't much older than Marion, her hair was still blond and full, no trace of gray. Her body was fit and firm, at least it has been the last time Jack had felt it without layers of clothes – way too long ago after his opinion.

He couldn't help himself but grabbed Lisa's left hand and pulled her close to him. Then he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and finally kissed her.

Lisa didn't hesitate for a second. She put down the cup she was still holding and wrapped her arms around Jacks back. "Hey there, cowboy", she whispered in his ear, before they continued kissing.

That night Amy didn't sleep much either - her mind wouldn't stop drifting of to the neclegted animals and about what they were going to do to help.

_Next chapter everyone is fighting hard for the animals lifes when Ty gets into serious trouble and leaves Amy behind in desperation. While one couple faces some scary "downs" another one is enjoying lovely "ups"._

_Feel free to comment, tell me what you think - I always appreciate it! _


	4. Ty

"Hey Scott, please say you have good news?" Marion answered her phone.

"I do indeed. All the tests came back negative, not one of the animals carries contagious bacteria. How that's possible is a mystery…"

"That's fantastic! I didn't expect the results back so soon. Let's initiate the rescue then?"

"The sooner - the better. I don't know if I have already said that, but I am unbelievably grateful for you to do this, Marion", Scott said.  
"Well, who could ignore this tragedy, right?"  
"Right."

Marion called the animal welfare and got the permission to get the animals the same day. They agreed to meet at the farm in a couple of hours. Everyone was mobilizing their horse trailers, Marion and one of her best stable hands Stella, Jack, Luke, Scott, a couple of Lisa's employees, Tim and even Valerie agreed to drive, Ty, Amy and Lou came along in Marion's truck.

The caravan arrived at the Sunshine-Farm before midday and had all the animals in the transporters by noon. They have decided to get all of them to Heartland before they would see witch animals will move to Luke's "Wilson-Farm" and witch will move to Lisa's "Fairfield". It wasn't always easy to convince the traumatised horses to step into the transporters but at the end of the day, all of them were ready to go. Not even once came Till Larson out of his house but Amy could spot him behind the curtains all the time.  
"I almost start feeling bad for that guy", she said to Ty.

"Feeling bad for that son of a bitch?"  
"I know it's weird, but it seems like he really feels bad about this. Just look at him, standing there behind the curtains."

"This all was his existence for years. Too bad he let it come to this. Don't forget that it is his fault that the animals are being taken away."

"I know. Come on, it's time to get the hell out of here."

Everyone was already sitting in their cars when Luke knocked on Marion's window. She rolled it down and saw in the face of the dirtiest puppy she has ever seen.  
"That guy asked me specifically for a ride in your car", Luke said.  
"Oh really, did he?" Marion laughed.  
"Actually, he also mentioned that he would prefer to stay at Heartland for the next ten to fifteen years, since he has heard that that's the best place to be these days."

Marion laughed again and Amy, who was sitting next to her pled: "Come on mom, take him already! Look at those brown eyes, he is so cute!"  
"You are unbelievable, Luke!" Marion hissed, but took the little bundle in her hands anyway. "See you at home", Luke chuckled.

Amy took the puppy out of her mother's hands and didn't let him go once on the drive back home.

Marion on the other hand thought about how Luke could be so sure that she would take on that little fellow. It was scary how good he knew her. Luckily there has been no time for awkward moments between Marion and Tim, since everybody was aiming to leave the Sunshine-Farm as soon as possible.

Back at Heartland the animals were divided into two groups: the ones in acceptable conditions were brought to a paddock and the ones in bad conditions were brought into the stable where they could have an eye on them 24/7.

Luke agreed to take the five cows to his place right away, so that none of the sixteen horses had to leave without being looked at by Marion. The goats, sheep and the pig shared a paddock and seemed to be pretty happy with their new home.

There was a total of eleven horses that had to stay inside the stable while five were already allowed to stay outside.

Even though there were a lot of helping hands, it wasn't easy for the Heartland crew to handle the amount of work that was added to their daily life. Luckily summer vacations were around the corner and Amy could concentrate fully on helping with the horses.

She had an understanding with her mother that she could start working with a couple of horses that came from the Sunshine-Farm and appeared to be not so traumatised that they were a potential danger for Amy, who still had to learn a lot from her mother. Ty kept his promise and was by her side whenever she needed help.

There was on horse that touched Amy's heart more than the others. It was a mare she called Sapphire. Sapphire was a young horse, not older than three years old with an outstanding blue eye. When she came to Heartland, no one was allowed to touch her or to come near her. After numerous join-ups and hours spent together, Amy felt like she finally got through and Sapphire let her come closer.

Marion was proud of her daughters work and left her more duties than before.

"If she keeps on getting better that fast, I can leave her Heartland in a month", she joked while she and Jack were watching Amy working with Sapphire.

"She did inherit your talent. But I don't think you need to worry, there's so much work to be done around Heartland these days, we could use ten more copies of you."

"So dad, I have been meaning to ask you something…"

"Don't hesitate then."

"What's up with you and Lisa? I noticed that she is coming over more again. Are you back together, or…" Marion asked carefully.

"… or… working on it", Jack completed her sentence.

"That's great. You two are great together."

"Now it's my turn to ask", Jack demanded.

"If you want to ask about Luke – there is not much I can tell you. Not back together and not exactly working intensely on it." That satisfied Jack and after he pulled his daughter in for a hug, left to get some work done.

Marion made her way to see one of the rather problematic horses. Joe, a seven year old gelding, stayed an unsolved mystery for Marion. She was surprised when she saw Luke standing in front of his stable.

"Talking about the devil", Marion murmured to herself.

"Luke, what are you doing here?" she greeted him.

"Hey there, I thought I'd come by to check on our problem children."

"Like what you see?" Marion asked.

"Most of them seem to be doing pretty well, don't they?"  
"Yeah, amazing what a little bit of food, water and someone that takes care of them can do."

"Luke, what are we doing?" Marion asked after moments of silence, encouraged by the talk she had only minutes ago with her father.  
"I… don't know", Luke answered slowly.  
"I don't want us to tiptoe around each other anymore."

"Marion, you remember that it was you who wanted us to take a break."

"Yeah, I remember. What I do not exactly remember is why I wanted a break. I miss you", Marion said and for the first time lifted her head so she could see Luke in his brown eyes.

"Then let me refresh your memory: You are worried, that you are not enough for me and that I would want to have children. And before you say something: Yes, I wanted children; I imagined my life with children. But when I met you, nothing was more important for me than you are. If being together with you means, that I will have no children – I don't care. As long as we are together, I'm fine."

Marion cleared her throat: "I didn't expect you to… I mean… I didn't expect that."

"You need to stop worrying about my life, Marion. Let me decide what makes me happy", Luke persuaded Marion.

But he didn't need to say more. Without another word Marion took Luke's Hand, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Later that day Marion was feeding the horses with Amy's help, when Lou came into the stable. She had a weird look on her face and gave Marion a letter without saying a word.

"Lou, what is it?" Amy asked her sister because she couldn't get a look at the letter.

"Jesus", Marion whispered and passed the letter to Amy. It took Amy a moment to realize what that paper meant. "Till Larson pressed charges because Ty hit him? That can't be right. Mom, he can't do that, right? I mean, Larson hit me first, if Ty wouldn't have helped me", Amy rambled helplessly.

Lou and Marion exchanged looks. "At this point, he sadly can do whatever he wants. I am sure he told the police some crazy story about how the two of you prowled around on his land… I'm going to talk to Ty while you should show Jack the letter", Marion said.

"What happens now? Will they take Ty away?" Amy asked fearfully.

"I don't know, Amy. He was previously convicted. Even though it was a long time ago I am not sure how the youth welfare office will handle this. I'm sorry", Marion answered with a concerned look on her face.

"Come on, lets go to Grandpa", Lou suggested and smoothly led Amy towards the farm house.

"This is not fair", Amy whined.

"I know. We will do everything we can to get Ty out of this. He didn't do anything wrong, the police and the lawyers will figure that out", Lou tried to calm her.

When they showed Jack the letter he was near to loosing it.

"What an idiot, how can he have the nerves to press charges against a seventeen year old teenager! He can not be so stupid to think that he actually achieves anything with his absurd accusations", he ranted against Till Larson. "You really think that?" Amy asked.  
"What?"  
"You really think that Larson won't achieve anything?"  
"Absolutely! Ty did what he did to protect you. I can see the cut under your eye from here, that's the best proof you can give the officers."

When Lou tried to comfort her sister, Marion and Ty came. Amy walked towards him, hugged him and whispered in his ear: "I'm so sorry, Ty. I'm so sorry." Ty pushed Amy gently away and looked at her with sad eyes.

"Ty, we will do everything possible to end this bullshit", Jack said before anyone else could chime in.

"I appreciate it", Ty murmured.

"I already left our lawyer a message", Lou said, "He is really good, helped us a lot of times before. You don't have to worry. Till Larson has no chance."

Even though Amy and Ty desperately wanted to believe them, neither of them could sleep that night. Amy was up before sunrise and to her surprise, Ty was already in the stable when she intended to feed the horses.

"You are up early", Ty said.  
"So are you. I couldn't sleep", she explained.

"Me neither."

"Ty, I'm so sorry, that this is happening. If I would have known, I would never have asked you to come with me."  
"I know. Amy, I don't blame you. And fact is that I actually don't even feel bad about what I did. That dork laid hand on you – he deserves much more than I did to him. And I am convinced that the police will look through the situation."

Amy frantically wanted to believe her boyfriend who pulled her into a comforting hug.

"It's going to be fine", he whispered.

Amy looked up and kissed Ty. Together they fed the horses, checked on the patients from the Sunshine-Farm and tried to act as normal as possible. Slowly Heartland awoke; Marion and Jack got up and were surprised when they noticed that Amy and Ty have already done most of their daily work.

Just as Amy and Ty decided to go for a ride, a police car drove down the driveway. They all have been expecting that visit, but when it finally came, no one felt ready.

Marion put the saddle she was carrying down, took her gloves off and greeted the police officers.

"Marion Bartlett?" one officer asked.  
"Yes, that's me", Marion answered.

"My name is John White and this is my partner Amanda Matip. You received a letter from us yesterday?"

"Yes, I think I know why you are here", Marion said.

"We are here to investigate the assault Tim Larson has reported two days ago. I suppose you are Ty Borden?" Amanda Matip asked Ty, who was standing next to Marion now.

"Yes", Ty answered in monosyllables.  
"We have to ask you to accompany us to the police station for an interrogation."  
"Is that really necessary? Can't you do that here?" Marion asked.

"I'm sorry Mrs Bartlett, but as you know, Mr Borden was previously convicted, so we take this case very serious. Of course you are allowed to come along, since you are his guardian."

Ty looked at Marion. You could read in her face that she was thinking hard.

"Listen Ty, would it be all right with you, if Jack comes with you? I will call our lawyer and clear things with him?" she finally asked.

"Sure, no problem. I'm okay", Ty answered, trying to appear as unimpressed as possible.

"Can I come?" Amy asked.

"No, sorry. Only Mr Borden's guardians. But I assume you are Amy Fleming? You will have to testify in the next couple of days", Officer White answered and Amy nodded.

Moments later Ty sat next to Jack on the way to the police station.

The interrogation itself went by exactly how Ty remembered them. He sat on one side of an empty table, on the other side Officer White and Officer Matip were facing him.

Ty had luck with his interrogators. They let him tell them his side of the story before they started their questions.

"You had no allowance to enter Mr Larson's property?"

"What exactly were you doing?"  
"When did you decide that you would have to hit Larson to free your girlfriend?"  
"Did you hit him once or more?"  
"Would you do it again?"

Ty answered question after question truthfully. It felt like hours when Officer Matip finally said: "Thank you Ty. We appreciate you cooperativeness. You can talk to you guardian now."

Ty only nodded, he was tired and only wanted to go home. He wanted to be with Amy.

Jack came inside the interrogation room, Matip and White left it.  
"Hey Ty, how did it go?" he asked.

Ty shrugged, "ok, I guess."

"Officer White told me, that you did really well."

"Well, then they can just let me go", Ty hissed.

"I understand that you are angry, but we need to stay patient", Jack tried calming Ty down, who was getting nervous.

They sat together in silence until the Officers came back.

"So, Ty, we understand that the situation at the Sunshine-Farm wasn't easy. But we have certain rules to follow. We don't think it is necessary to put you in juvenile hall. We do believe it would be the best for you to stay at the youth center for the next time."

Ty was just about to raise his voice when White interrupted him: "Just until everything is cleared."

"Do you really think this is necessary?" Jack said, determined not to loose his temper.

He clenched his teeth when Matip said, that they indeed thought it would be necessary to isolate Ty from Heartland for a while.

"I really don't see how this would any good", Jack kept on discussing.

"Well, the Department of Youth and Family Services is convinced that this is the best way to handle things right now", White explained.

Jack looked at Ty and was surprised by his cold eyes. He has never seen him so silently furious.


End file.
